


It Gets Exhausting, After a While (Season 5 AU)

by Applsd



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Assumptions, Cisco Ramon is Not Okay, Crack Treated Seriously, Crack and Angst, Doubt, Friendship, Gen, Grumpy Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells, Hurt Barry Allen, Introspection, Iris West is So Done, Logic, Peer Pressure, Protective Caitlin Snow, Short One Shot, Sleep Deprivation, The Flash (TV 2014) Season 5, Vibe Powers (The Flash TV 2014), reads like a prelude
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:34:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29215782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Applsd/pseuds/Applsd
Summary: Team Flash's resident engineer turned metahuman (and still engineer) was tired. It wasn't something he knew how to fix, so he lived with it.Enter meddling friends who "gently nudge" him into doing something drastic.
Relationships: Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon, Cisco Ramon & Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon & Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells, Cisco Ramon & Iris West, Cisco Ramon & Jesse "Quick" Wells
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	It Gets Exhausting, After a While (Season 5 AU)

Recently, Cisco Ramon had been feeling off-kilter.

The reason for his exhaustion wasn't a mystery to him. He'd forgotten how to sleep properly, and the use of his powers affected him more because of that.

Cisco liked being able to contribute to the team though. Since the bags under his eyes weren't anyone's fault but his, he didn't see any reason to stop working. _It's not like I'm ever too tired to open a breach._ he said to himself. _It's super easy now...My hands'll stop shaking like this soon._ Even with this attitude, Cisco had to admit to himself that, as time passed and he became increasingly in-tune with his powers, his friends were treating him less like an engineer and more like a convenient crystal ball. 

There was no more _Hi_ or _What's up, man?_ from Barry in the mornings. As soon as Cisco walked into the cortex--if he'd even bothered going home before--he was expected to don his vibing goggles, touch a somehow significant object, try again if nothing came. Here's another significant object. _What did you see, Cisco?_

Feelings are important to Team Flash, but Cisco didn't want to bring up a problem he didn't even know how to fix. If someone would ask why he was sitting on his hands or if the headache he was constantly complaining about was any better, maybe it would've been easier.  
Usually, after he told them the (often disturbing and disorienting) details of what he'd seen, the team was busy figuring out how to use the new information to help Barry save people _fast_.

He understood. He really did. Still, the headaches persisted, the bad days became normalcy, and his dedication to Team Flash was steadily morphing into an obligation.

The change in Cisco had been fairly gradual; one couldn't blame his friends for not noticing exactly what was going on. They had their own lives to worry about. 

Nora and her young adult angst was the central focus for Barry and Iris, and therefore, Nora was the central focus of Team Flash, particularly Sherloque because Sherloque was nosy.

Ralph was busy as a new hero, establishing "street cred", and Caitlin was spending more time with Killer Frost and less with other members of Team Flash. 

She was concerned about Cisco for a bit, when she found him sitting alone in the pipeline with his head in his hands, but Frost said he was probably still moping over Gypsy. Caitlin had accepted that simple explanation from her other personality, bought her sad friend a foam latte from Jitters, and moved on. 

(Cisco was grateful for the coffee, but then he accidentally vibed off it and saw a barista's death in 2088. He felt his headache spike when he came out, dropped the coffee on his shoes, and got another vibe about what would’ve happened if the cup had slipped out of his hands a different way. And _that_ was a trip.)

Joe and Cecile, despite having a daughter and a granddaughter to focus on, also saw that Cisco was going through _something_. But, like Caitlin, they assumed his breakup with Gypsy had hit him harder than originally thought.

Given time, he would heal. Given time, he'd be fine. Given time, everyone adjusted to Cisco's new behaviour and forgot he hadn't always looked so miserable.

Something interesting happened when Harry and Jesse came to visit. They hadn't seen Cisco in months, so they were stunned by the difference--to the point where they both secretly thought he might be another earth's Cisco, only dismissing the theory when they were greeted warmly. "Harry and Jesse, back from Earth-2. Long time, no see." "Okay, he knows our names," Jesse whispered. "What was that?" "Nothing," Harry said, folding his arms. "I see you're as grumpy as usual. Coffee?"

"Thanks. No."

Jesse noticed that their friend was wearing a plain sweatshirt instead of a cheesy Earth-1 pop-culture reference. The older Wells was disturbed by Cisco’s listlessness. Ramon had only smiled for a second when they showed up, his hair was unkempt--a probable sign that his spirit had been broken--and his posture was definitely worse than usual.

“What’s your problem, Ramon?” Harry finally asked.

“ _Dad,_ ” Jesse groaned.

“I mean, are you okay?” he amended.

Cisco seemed surprised by the question--and by Harry's sudden shift to politeness.

“Uh...no. Not really.”

“Well what's your prob--I mean, what’s wrong?”

“It's nothing to worry about,” Cisco said. “I just have a really stubborn headache.”

“How long?”

He shrugged. “Few days. I don't think it's going away anytime soon, especially with all the vibing I’ve been doing.”

Jesse nodded in understanding. Cisco was old, after all. Relatively.

“You should take a nap.”

“Or take a break from using your abilities,” Harry added.

“It's not something I can turn off,” Cisco sighed, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. “And Team Flash needs me.”

“The things you actively do; you can take a break from that. They'll understand.”

“I don't know… It's not like when I first got my powers. We rely on them more now, and it's not supposed to be a problem. I should be past this. I mean, _Gypsy _never got this many vibing headaches.”__

“You're still moping over her then.”

 _“No,”_ Cisco said. "I was just _referencing_ her. As a fellow breacher.”

“You still have feelings for her.”

“Of _course_ I do. I always will. That doesn't mean I'm moping. I met Kamilla--”

“Camilla? I've never heard you talk about Camilla.”

“That's because you've been on a different earth!”

“Tell me, Ramon. When's the last time you saw this girl? ‘Camilla’.”

“I've been--I just--”

“That's what I thought.”

Jesse was thoroughly entertained by this conversation. As she was reflecting that her dad needed more friends his age on their earth, a sudden light sparkled in her eyes.

“Hey! Cisco!” she yelped, interrupting his rant of excuses for why he hadn't seen Kamilla anytime recently.

“Uh, yeah?”

“Naps are kinda overrated. You should come to ‘Earth Two’ for a while! It's pretty chill over there now, so it would be kinda like a vacation! Wouldn't that be great? Wouldn't that be great, Dad?”

“It _would_ be great,” Harry said. What else could he do? His daughter was so excited she was bouncing on her toes! And Ramon _did_ need a break.

“What do you think, Ramon?”

“Uh, thank you for offering, but the team…”

Jesse deflated and Harry acted fast.

“The team will understand. I'll tell them now.” 

Cisco watched him leave. He didn't think it would go well, but he didn't have the heart (or the energy) to stop him. Jesse was just so _happy._

“I can't wait for you to try our Big Belly Burger! The fries are so much better than yours!”

“Ex _cuse_ me?” Cisco folded his arms defensively, not sure why he was getting defensive over a cheap burger joint.

“I'm taking Cisco to ‘Earth Two’. He needs a break.”

Barry squinted in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“You don't realize how stressed he is?”

Iris shook her head slowly, but Caitlin was nodding.  
“He _has_ been kind of upset over Gypsy.”

“No, He's _fine,_ ” Barry argued. “He got over that. He's dating someone else now. _Camille?_ ”

“Camilla.” 

“Yeah, Camilla.”

“It’s not about Gypsy _or_ Camilla,” Harry growled. “He's not heart-broken. He’s tired. _Exhausted_. He looks like he's about to collapse.”

“We’re _all_ about to collapse, Harry. But we can't rest until we stop Cicada.”

“You don't understand. Not unless _you_ have a headache from all of--this.”

“Uh, what does--”

“Cisco told me he’s had one for _days._ That's not healthy. That's _unacceptable_. He can't stay _here_. Here, he's wearing himself out trying to fix _your_ spawn’s mistakes, so I'm taking him to ‘Earth Two’.”

“You can't just _take_ him without his consent!”

“I _have_ his consent!”

Iris held up her hand. “Stop. Guys, _stop_.”

They stopped.

“You both have good points. _Both_ of you. Harry, we could use Cisco's help to stop Cicada. His powers are an advantage, especially since Cicada thinks he's dead. But--Barry, we all need a break sometimes. You had Flashpoint for three months. Caitlin and Frost took a break for _six_ months when you went into the Speedforce. Cisco’s always been the one who stays and makes sure there's a Team Flash to come back to. Maybe it's _his_ turn to take a break.”

“Exactly,” said Harry, smirking.

Barry glared at him. “How do we know he even _wants_ to leave? He's _fine_. If he wasn't fine, he’d tell us himself.”

"Now would be a good time, Cisco," Harry said dryly.

All heads turned toward Cisco as he inched into the cortex, followed by Jesse .

“Ah...well...I _have_ been having some trouble sleeping, and I probably shoulda said something, but with Cicada and everything--I didn't wanna--oof!”

He suddenly found himself unable to move because Caitlin was hugging him quite forcefully.

“I'm so sorry,” she whispered. “I should've done _more_.”

“No, Caitlin. Without you guys--You didn't know, and you still made it less awful,” Cisco responded. “Also, you're kind of crushing my windpipe.”

“You can always talk to us, okay?”

"Uh…"

**_“Okay?”_ **

Her eyes flashed from brown to white, and her grip tightened. 

“Yeah, okay! I got it!” Cisco squeaked. He briefly rethought going along with Jesse's plan. There were so many things he would _miss_. Caitlin's warmth, Frost's freezing hugs...What if Earth-Two didn't have licorice!

But when Frost let him go, Cisco glanced at Harry, who gave him a grumpy yet encouraging nod. Cisco remembered that licorice had never helped him sleep.

_Okay. I can do this._

But could he really leave?

"Ramon!" Harry barked, spooking Cisco into action.

“Uh...guys, it's--the past few years have meant a lot to me. Team Flash is my family. Star Labs is my home… I’ve just--been feeling kind of off lately, and I think I need--”

“A vacation?” Jesse prompted.

“A break!” Harry supplied confidently.

“Yes,” agreed Cisco, albeit with less confidence. "That."

Barry frowned. “For how long? Nine months? _Eighteen_ months?”

“I don't know, man,” Cisco said, feeling like there was a joke to be made. He couldn't find the energy. “Is that okay?”

“You're your own person,” Iris said gently. “But please keep in mind how valuable you are to the team.” 

“Uh huh. If Cicada wins because we aren't at our full strength, that's on you.”

“Barry!” Even Iris was surprised. She might've been the most surprised

“That’s it,” Harry snapped. “I'm taking him right _now!_ ”

He strode across the room, grabbed Cisco by the arm, and said, “You don’t owe them anything. You hear me, Ramon? Open a breach.”

“But--”

“Open a breach!”

Cisco opened a breach and yelped as Harry shoved him through it. 

“Come on, Jesse!”

Jesse shrugged and went after them.

The breach closed.

What was left of Team Flash stood in bewildered silence until Barry spoke up. 

“Did--did Harry just kidnap Cisco?”

Caitlin shrugged.

“Unclear.”

“Well let's get him back!”

“Wait,” Iris said, intervening once again.

“Where are the extrapolators?”

“Barry, _wait._ ”

“What?”

“If Cisco didn't want to be kidnapped, he wouldn't have opened that breach. ”

“So you think…”

“Yes, I think he meant what he said about needing a break.”

"Oh...Then let's find a way to contact Gypsy." Barry held up a teddy bear. "I need someone to vibe off this. I found it in Grace's hospital room, and I think it might reveal Cicada's location!"

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe this is just from how little of Cisco we saw in the show after season 4, but he did seem a bit more miserable, even taking Gypsy into account. This was inspired by that perception (and how much I disapproved of season 5).


End file.
